Greetings all, questions regarding a 2012 Leaf SL

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jmp470

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May 4, 2017
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I have some questions before I decide to purchase a 2012 Leaf SL. But, first, the mission for the Leaf is 70-80 Miles daily. 32 Miles each way to work and some putting around my work area during the day. I live in San Antonio, Tx and will be traveling mainly highway, so speeds will be around 75mph.

My questions are:

1) Can the Leaf SL do this mission? The Leaf I'm looking at is a 2012 with all 12 pips on the battery.

2) I average 25,000 miles per year right now, can the leaf handle this mileage?

3) I know there is a 7 year / 100,000 mile warranty on the car, but, is there anything special or different on the Batter?

4) How much is it to replace the batter? Is this possible?


Any tips, answers, etc. are greatly appreciated.

I really like the concept of the Leaf, just want to make sure it fits my mission.
 
1. No. At 75mph you'll chew through that battery. Drop the speed to 55mph and hang on the right and it's doable for sure.
2. Definitely
3. Go to the dealer and have them run a service report on the VIN. I lucked out with my 2012 and it flat out states the battery warranty is good on mine until 8/2018 (since my car sat around a long time and the in-service date is so late)
4. Around $5k at dealer, or free if you're in the warranty. With 12 bars it probably already has a new battery (or they reset it)
 
One big question:

Can you charge at work?

If you can, then go for it!

If you can't, I'd suggest looking into a different car, like a 2016 SV or SL Leaf, or to be prepared to drive like an enthusiast that doesn't care if he has to go everywhere at lower speeds with the air conditioning or heat off, ready to pull over and ask a neighbor to let you charge a few hours off of their 120V outside outlet.
 
IssacZachary said:
One big question:

Can you charge at work?

If you can, then go for it!

If you can't, I'd suggest looking into a different car, like a 2016 SV or SL Leaf, or to be prepared to drive like an enthusiast that doesn't care if he has to go everywhere at lower speeds with the air conditioning or heat off, ready to pull over and ask a neighbor to let you charge a few hours off of their 120V outside outlet.
Click to expand...
Yep. This assumes the OP can charge fully both at home and work.

On a '12 w/a new battery, what the OP wants w/o being able to charge at work is already very questionable. An all 12 bar '12 can also be questionable depending on where it resided. If it resided in a hot climate, it was a victim of a BMS reset and actually has fewer bars, OR, its HV battery was replaced already. OP needs to find out where the car resided before via Carfax/Autocheck.
 
jmp470 said:
I have some questions before I decide to purchase a 2012 Leaf SL. But, first, the mission for the Leaf is 70-80 Miles daily. 32 Miles each way to work and some putting around my work area during the day. I live in San Antonio, Tx and will be traveling mainly highway, so speeds will be around 75mph.

My questions are:

1) Can the Leaf SL do this mission? The Leaf I'm looking at is a 2012 with all 12 pips on the battery.

2) I average 25,000 miles per year right now, can the leaf handle this mileage?

3) I know there is a 7 year / 100,000 mile warranty on the car, but, is there anything special or different on the Battery?

4) How much is it to replace the battery? Is this possible?


Any tips, answers, etc. are greatly appreciated.

I really like the concept of the Leaf, just want to make sure it fits my mission.
Click to expand...

TX and a 2012 Leaf, expect to lose 10% range each year due to heat.

So even if you could somehow do 75 mph x 80 miles one day you sure wouldn't after the first summer.

Miles don't matter, 25,000 miles a year, 50,000 miles a year the leaf won't care.

Heat, heat, heat, and did I mention heat? Yeah, heat will matter.

I'd say don't even consider it unless you can get that leaf for under $6000 and don't mind replacing it in a few months or maybe a year or two. You'll burn through a 2012 super fast in TX and won't be happy with it.
 
TX and a 2012 Leaf, expect to lose 10% range each year due to heat.

So even if you could somehow do 75 mph x 80 miles one day you sure wouldn't after the first summer.

Miles don't matter, 25,000 miles a year, 50,000 miles a year the leaf won't care.

Heat, heat, heat, and did I mention heat? Yeah, heat will matter.
Click to expand...

Definitely agree. What the OP needs is a 30kwh Leaf, and even then it will have lost a lot of capacity due to heat after 5 years.
 
+1 to whats been said, I assume a '12 Leaf to be a 60 mile car, maybe 70 for a '13+, the older Leafs were very susceptible to heat, living in TX even if it's a 12 bar now, it wouldn't be for long. A resounding NO from me for your first question, a 30kwh battery Leaf yes and a '13+ as long as it's a solid 12 bars but again with a '12 you'd be dropping bars fairly quickly in TX and for what you want you'd really need a full 12 bar car and even then you'd be on the cusp.
 
The least/cheapest car that could fill the bill for what you want would be a 2013 Leaf, built AFTER March of 2013 (the info is on the door sticker and in a Carfax report), with a LeafSpy reading of at least 90% State Of Health (SOH). Anything less/older and you'll regret it. Even in the above case you'd have to take measures to keep the pack temp below 7 temperature "bars" on the dash gauge, as much as possible. You'd be better off with a 2015 or newer Leaf.
 
You can do it if (and only if) you have 208/240-volt charging at both ends. If the 2012 has a new "lizard" battery (2015), it might be OK. I am at 11 capacity bars after 39k miles and almost 27 months in Phoenix with my 2015. If you don't have 208/240-volt charging at both ends, your only viable LEAF option is a 2016 or newer with 30 kWh battery and with little deterioration.
 

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